What is the best Sampler to use with SAW/MWS?

[Microstudio]

What is the best Sampler/VI to use with SAW/MWS?

[mako]

Best - well there's so many?

Best value? - probably Wusikstation - very affordable and works fine in MWS.

cheers - mako

[RBIngraham]

I can not really tell you what is "best". But I asked a similar question not long ago and have been doing some experimenting and testing.

I've found that the best things to look at are probably:

Wusikstation
Kontakt
Battery
Sampla (or one of their other sampler apps)

I would steer clear of MOTU's sampler based on reports from other users, even though it seems to have one of the nicest UIs.

Most of the other stuff I've looked at is really only for playing back sample libraries that come with the application or are bought separately. These were the main contenders for an honest to goodness sampler that you know... actually samples or records audio. :)

[Microstudio]

I have never heard of Wusikstation? How does it compair to Komplete7 and IK's Sample Tank?

[RBIngraham]

I have never heard of Wusikstation? How does it compair to Komplete7 and IK's Sample Tank?

Well you can download the demo and give it a shot. :)

http://www.wusik.com/ww/

Keeping in mind that I have not used it other than testing out the demo, I don't think it's as sophisticated as Kontackt.

But what exactly are you looking for. Komplete is not a sampler. It's every product that NI makes. Most of them are more sample library oriented or a knock off of a certain vintage synth. It wouldn't be all that fair to compare Wusik Station to Komplete. Much different in scope.

Sample Tank is not a sampler. It's a sample player is all. It's there so you can play the included library of sounds that come with it and buy additional ones that expand on the stock sample set.

So are you looking for a sample library and/or virtual instruments? Or are you looking for a real sampler where you can create your own original patches/samples? They really are 2 different things. Same technology obviously, but you have to know what you need to achieve first in order to buy the right thing.

[DavidandMary]

I love Kontakt. It has a ton of power and plays nicely with SAW if you check the "Cancel Always On Top" selection from the Blue Pyramid menu. Still on version 3 here, but if you got Komplete, Kontakt 4 would be included along with a bread and butter library of sounds. They sound pretty good. You can do all kinds of things with your recordings in Kontakt and the sampling engine is top notch. I always hear good things about Kontakt in music forums. YMMV...

[sebastiandybing]

It is possible to load your own wave files
in sample tank, but it is not what it is
design for.
The big problem with sample tank is that
there have not been any updates since 2006,
I still use it, but almost all the samples are
more or less outdated, in most cases the samples
are in the 8 to 32 mb size, there is a 100 mb piano,
and a 100 mb elguitar.
But comparind this to a modern hardware workstation
this is small, infact korgs new kronos synth
are comming with 2 x 4,7 gb piano samples with
400 note polyfoni, in this light the samples in sample tank
is lightyear behind.
The good thing in sample tank is its resample feture,
its possible to change the partial relations in the sample
and can give some really nice new intruments using
some plain samples.
Sebastiab

[RBIngraham]

It is possible to load your own wave files
in sample tank, but it is not what it is
design for.
The big problem with sample tank is that
there have not been any updates since 2006,
I still use it, but almost all the samples are
more or less outdated, in most cases the samples
are in the 8 to 32 mb size, there is a 100 mb piano,
and a 100 mb elguitar.
But comparing this to a modern hardware workstation
this is small, infact korgs new kronos synth
are comming with 2 x 4,7 gb piano samples with
400 note polyfoni, in this light the samples in sample tank
is lightyear behind.
The good thing in sample tank is its resample feture,
its possible to change the partial relations in the sample
and can give some really nice new instruments using
some plain samples.
Sebastiab

Huh, I've never been able to figure out how to do that. Is it only the full version that allows for that I wonder? I have the LE version to play some of the samples libraries.

I do agree that SampleTank is getting a bit long in the tooth. But I also don't worry about how large the samples are. If they still work fine then I don't really care. I still use them for my work on a regular basis as in the end when someone is sitting in a theatre listing to a composition I have written for the show, I would at least hope they are paying attention to the show and not going... "wow the sample size on the piano used for this music was sooooo small... " :)

Don't get me wrong, I agree there are some better libraries out there now and they do sound better. I'm just saying that in the end it should be about the end product and I don't think most people care what piano sound or other library was used to create it. It's about the emotion of the end result really. At least for me anyway. :)

[sebastiandybing]

For me its about having a good time
comming from a to b.
I think most people are really good at
masking bad sampled intruments or
change there way of playing becouse of
the sampled instruments strange behavior.

To import samples in sampletank 2.5 hit
import button and choose the s1000-3000
or samples. If you choose samples, a browser
opens and you can select one or more samples to
import, each sample can have its own root key or it
can take the root name from the sample name.
Its very easy, but I did have some crash using this,

Sebastian

[Tim Miskimon]

Since we're talking about samplers I have a question.

I have the whole library of Roland S-50 & S-550 sample disks that I would love to use in a VSTi based sampler.
I still have my S-330 sampler but it's such a pain waiting on those disks to load.
There are some really great samples in the library so I was wondering if anyone has any information on a converter that would allow me to use them in a VSTi sampler.

[sebastiandybing]

http://www.chickensys.com/products/sw_iteminfo.php?sw_name=Translator+Pro
I have been using chickensys, your sampler
may be on the support list.

Sebastian

[Microstudio]

I guess I need to clarify. I am talking about Sampler/VI combos. Most of the samplers I know of also come with great samples and then you can also make your own.

[Tim Miskimon]

What do you guys think of Sample Tank?

[sebastiandybing]

Sample tank works very well in saw and mws,
Its easy to setup multi outputs, and its easy
to setup combis and save them for recall.
It has good filters and really nice resample
and good effects build in.
It also read miroslav symfoni orch. directly,

The minus is that the library is very old and
sounds outdated, a bit like a old workststion.
there have not been any updates since 2006,
ok, there have been a couple of small updates
to remove some bugs.

But its easy to use and there is some really
nice possibilitis with the resample.
It can rrally blow life into many samples,

Sebastian

[AcousticGlue]

If someone wants to tranfer license of my Sample Tank2 PM me and I will make arrangements. I got in on Group Buy and DL'ed 11.7 GB of sounds. Shoot me a price you are willing to offer

[RBIngraham]

What do you guys think of Sample Tank?

I have the Sonik Synth and several of the other sample sets that use Sample Tank as their playback engine. I find them easy to use, browse and they sound good to my ear. There are better things for orchestral sounds, but I like a lot of the samples that came with those libraries and use them fairly regularly.

As a synth it works well and has been fairly stable. I use it in Sonar, ACID and occasionally Tracktion. I never use SAW for my composition work, so I can not say how well it works in SAW.

[RBIngraham]

I guess I need to clarify. I am talking about Sampler/VI combos. Most of the samplers I know of also come with great samples and then you can also make your own.

I guess I just treat those as two completely different things. If you look around there are very few true software samplers out there. The "virtual instrument" is really king now days and basically it's the same thing, but there is a big difference to me between something that just browses through sample sets, load em up and plays them and a true sampler that allows you to actually record, create original patches, etc... Obviously they still exist, as we've been talking about most of the options here. But most of the new stuff I see is more a virtual instrument.

Yes, most of the software samplers do include some sample library of their own. Which frankly I find unfortunate. As I would rather just pay for the sampler software and not the libary. But of course nothing says I have to use the sample library. And I often find use in them, even if the real reason I initially buy the synth is because I want to use it to make my own samples/patches.

[WARDAK]

I guess I need to clarify. I am talking about Sampler/VI combos. Most of the samplers I know of also come with great samples and then you can also make your own.

I Like yellow tools' Independence PRO works great with SawStudio. http://www.yellowtools.us/cp21/cms/index.php?id=399&shownews=553

[RobertV]

I got the Demo version, but had trouble with instability issues (with Cubase SX32) and stopped using it.
Currently using NI Bandstand, Garritan GPO, JaBB and Proteus VX plus some hardware boxes Proteus 1 and 2 and Alesis D4.

I am planning to start using MWS with our next project. Perhaps I should test YellowTools again, this time with MWS?

[Richard Rupert]

<snip>Currently using <snip> Proteus VX <snip>
Robert,
Do you happen to have the configuration file for the Proteus VX for the MWS Library view? (I forget exactly what the file is called, or its extension, but it puts the names of the Proteus patches in the Library view).

Thanks,
Richard

[RobertV]

Richard

I'm not sure if I have that file, I'll have a look for it and let you know!

Cheers...Robert V.

[RobertV]

I'll sent you a private message

[Richard Rupert]

I'll sent you a private message
Thank you Robert! :)

[Microstudio]

I Like yellow tools' Independence PRO works great with SawStudio. http://www.yellowtools.us/cp21/cms/index.php?id=399&shownews=553

Never heard of it but I am downloading the free version and I am going to check it out. I bought SampleTank and it works great but I want to check out Yellow just to see what it is like.